One type of ceiling system includes ceiling panels or tiles that are installed in a support grid which may be suspended from or directly installed to a suitable overhead building support structure. Such ceiling systems may be designed to partially or completely conceal the support grid from view.
An improved ceiling system with concealed support grid is desired.
As additional background, numerous types of suspended ceiling systems and methods for mounting ceiling panels have been used. One type of system includes a suspended support grid including an array of intersecting grid support members configured to hang a plurality of individual ceiling panels therefrom. It is desirable in some cases to conceal the support grid for providing the appearance of a monolithic ceiling. It is further desirable to apply a facing scrim or sheet to the bottom surface of the ceiling panels for concealing the joints between the ceiling panels.
As additional background, a number of different materials have been used for creating seamless ceilings having a monolithic appearance. One such material is drywall. Drywall or wall board panels are surface mounted to a support surface or grid formed of wood or metal which are affixed to an overhead building structure to support the panels. Panels are affixed to the grid using fasteners. Highly visible joints formed between adjoining panels typically have relatively wide gaps which must be taped and spackled with drywall joint compound to cover the joints and fastener heads. This process is time consuming and expensive generally involving several iterations of spackling and sanding to achieve a smooth finish to conceal the joints. Furthermore, drying time must be allowed between coats of joint compound before sanding. The ceiling installation may take as long as five days in some cases and requires completion by skilled craftsman which increases installation costs. The finished joints and drywall are only now ready for applying a finish coat or paint.
The foregoing drywall ceiling installation also requires attachment of the ceiling panels to a rigid support surface or grid. Such monolithic ceiling systems may not always be suitable for attachment to suspended grid support systems, thereby limiting the number of applications in which drywall may be used. Moreover, drywall cannot deliver comparable acoustical performance to other ceiling materials such as acoustical ceiling tiles or panels which many times is desired in occupied spaces.
An improved monolithic ceiling system is therefore desired.